By John Tredrea, Special Writer
What began on April 27, 2011 — when area voters said yes to a special ballot question that asked them to authorize the expenditure of up to $50,000 in tax dollars to finance a regionalization feasibility study — ended Sept. 24, 2013 when area voters said yes to the regionalization of South County’s four school districts.
And soon, it’s going to seem even more real for the new South Hunterdon Regional School District, formed as a result of the approval of that September referendum. That was last fall.
This September, the new district will be in operation for its first school year, with classes actually in session at its three elementary schools and high school.
"Summer is going by fast," the district’s superintendent, Louis Muenker, said during Monday night’s meeting of the regional school board. "We’re on schedule for the opening of school. Our facilities are being cleaned and updated. We’re interviewing for some elementary teaching positions."
The superintendent noted that a week from next Monday, on Aug. 11, fall sports activity will start, with interscholastic teams beginning organized practices.
At Monday night’s brief school board meeting, held at South Hunterdon Regional High School — the board has been rotating the location of its meetings among its four constituent schools — the board unanimously approved a number of measures pertaining to personnel and buildings and grounds.
On the personnel side, the board approved hiring Jean Kellogg Hewens for school counseling and social work for the 2014-15 school year, for $25,000.
Audrey Costa’s resignation as physical education teacher at Stockton Borough School was accepted.
Svitlana Nedoszytk was increased from half-time to full-time as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher.
On the buildings and grounds side, paying the firm Unify $3,944 for the annual maintenance and service contract for the West Amwell School’s phone system was approved by the board.
Also approved was paying the firm USA Architect $1,191 for work in the high school’s wood shop and middle school commons.

